I’m Marno and I head up the RIBA Appointments division. I’m over the moon to have the chance to represent and support the Society as an Ambassador.  In my line of work, assisting architects to find new jobs and practices alike, I have learnt of the difficulties architects face when they are unemployed or have been made redundant.

My team and I need to be more than just recruiters; we need to be able to assist our candidates and have a deeper understanding of how to help members of the profession experiencing troubling circumstances. I want to help.

I learned of the Society via the Samaritans in Mental Health Week and now have the chance to get involved and do my best to make even more of a difference.

ABS kindly sponsored my masters dissertation in 2018, titled ‘Mental Wellbeing and the Architecture Student’. This piece of research was done in collaboration with the RIBA, and interrogated some of the key causes behind mental distress amongst architecture students, and suggested future steps towards addressing these problems.

I am now working as an Architect and am proud to be an ambassador for the ABS, alongside my involvement in the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum. The work all the inspiring people at ABS are doing is invaluable for everyone in the profession. I strongly believe that we can make a difference, and I would like to empower people to challenge conventional viewpoints surrounding unhealthy cultures and consider their own mental health as a priority within their studies or careers, not as a secondary consideration. We have been seeing a lot of positive progress and this must continue if we are to become a healthy profession.

Stephen is the Founder of the Architecture Social and a Council Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He worked in the Architecture industry at EPR Architects for three years after completing a degree and diploma in Architecture at the University of Westminster and Manchester School of Architecture. In 2014, Stephen left practising Architecture to pursue a career in recruitment where he worked alongside industry-leading Architecture Practices such as AHMM, Allies and Morrison, Benoy, Sheppard Robson and Skidmore Owings and Merrill to find creative designers for their teams. In 2021, Stephen joined Ackroyd Lowrie, an ambitious Architecture Practice as their Head of Talent. He was responsible for internal recruitment and retaining existing staff, alongside building up his own business known as the Architecture Social. The Architecture Social is an online platform packed with content, resources and tools to help creatives find new jobs, stand out from the crowd and take their career in Architecture to the next level. The combination of working directly in the Architecture Industry as a designer and hiring manager, as well as a consultant in the Recruitment Industry, means that the Architecture Social has a fresh spin on an old formula by breaking down traditional barriers between companies and creatives, providing a supportive environment to develop professional skills, find new jobs and socialise.

Currently, he is an elected member of the RIBA Council, an ambassador for ABS, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a professional member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and the Association Of Professional Staffing Companies. Previously a Visiting Critic and Teaching Assistant of Manchester School of Architecture, professional mentor for postgraduate students of Architecture at the University of Westminster, and a guest lecturer for students of LMJU.

He says, “Architects come from all walks of life and have overcome obstacles along the way. It is a very hard journey along the path of Architecture. Working in architecture has its ups and downs.  We all love the industry for different reasons, however whether it is external events or problems within practice sometimes it can feel like the odds are against you and leave you feeling an anxious. Sometimes we all need a little help or would like the support of someone else who is familiar with the industry, even if it is just someone to talk to. That’s what I love about the ABS and how they help the industry.”

I am extremely proud to represent the Architect’s Benevolent Society and help to raise awareness of mental illness and how the ABS can help those suffering within the Architectural community.

I am currently a Part 1 Architectural Assistant at Sonnemann Toon Architects and will be starting my Part 2 Masters at the University of Westminster in September 2019.  I, like so many other students, experienced a period of ill mental health during my undergraduate degree and wasn’t aware of the options and support available to me. For this reason, I feel extremely passionate about encouraging an open conversation, within universities and the workplace, about mental health and raising awareness of the links that ABS have with Anxiety UK and the therapy that they can provide.

I have met so many wonderfully passionate people through volunteering for ABS and have been really inspired by the success of the Anxiety Arch campaign and their growth over the last year. Volunteering as an ambassador is really rewarding and I hope to continue to support the architectural profession through this role and my educational and professional networks.

Being asked to be an Ambassador for the Architects Benevolent Society is a tremendous honour as I have witnessed at close hand the difference the Society makes in lives of the people and families they support.

The Construction industry is often seen as a barometer for the economy and this can place the members of our profession in challenging circumstances, especially within the current turbulent climate.

Through Pollard Thomas Edwards’s work organising the Society’s annual Chicken Run in 2015 and 2016, I saw the dedication and commitment of its members of staff.  My role as an ABS Ambassador gives me the opportunity to spread the word of this tireless work to a greater audience to ensure that the help they give can continue for all future generations of architects and technicians.

I am also an Associate at Pollard Thomas Edwards, a member of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Architects and RIBA North London Steering Group. It is through these memberships that I hope to broaden the Society’s reach to the architectural student population and members of the profession.

One of my life mottos is to ‘Give without expectation!’ The team at ABS do exactly that, they are a group of dedicated people providing a vital lifeline for past and present members of the wider architectural profession and their families in times of need.

I am delighted to join the Society as one of its London Ambassadors and I look forward to raising greater awareness of this AWESOME charity and the great work it does throughout the UK.

I am an Architect and Development Manager dedicated to education, mentoring and helping others to achieve their dreams within the construction industry and beyond.

Remember: “It’s not the load you carry, but how you carry it” ABS is here to help!

Ben Channon is an architect, author, TEDx speaker and mental wellbeing advocate, and is well known in the industry as a thought leader in designing for happiness and wellbeing.

He is a Director at wellbeing design consultancy Ekkist, where he helps clients and design teams to create healthier places, and researches how buildings and urban design can impact how we feel. He developed an interest in design for mental health, wellbeing and happiness after suffering with anxiety problems in his mid-twenties. This led him to research the relationship between buildings and happiness, which formed the basis of his first book: ‘Happy by Design’. Ben’s second book ‘The Happy Design Toolkit’ – which offers more practical advice on how to create buildings for our mental wellbeing – was published in March 2022.

Ben now speaks on this subject to businesses and universities around the world. Ben then went on to qualify as WELL Accredited Professional, broadening his knowledge to encompass design for physical wellbeing. In January 2020 he was invited to join the WELL Mind Advisory panel, using his expertise to raise the bar for healthy buildings worldwide.

In 2017 Ben co-founded the Architect’s Mental Wellbeing Forum, which is focused on improving mental health within the industry. He is also an accredited mindfulness practitioner with the Mindfulness Association, and is interested in how buildings can help us to be more mindful and present every day.

“Having had personal experience of the toll that architecture can take on your mental health, this is an issue I have been trying to raise awareness of for some time. I was delighted to discover the amazing work that ABS are doing in this area in collaboration with Anxiety UK, through their #AnxietyArch programme.

I was therefore honoured to be asked to become an ambassador for this great charity, which helps architects and their families at all stages of their careers. I am always inspired when I meet up with the ABS team, whose energy and enthusiasm seems endless! I am very excited to work with the team, share what they do, and to work side-by-side with them as part of the Architects’ Mental Wellbeing Forum.”

I became involved with the ABS to help spread the message of their good work, my own personal experience of battling sudden extreme ill health, where I was forced to take time off studying/working for several years, helps me to empathise with others facing similar hardship.

I had heard about the ABS some years ago, but assumed it was only for fully qualified architects; it was only later did I realise it was open to students and other professionals as well and that there could have been some financial and mental health support available to me.

Through articles, guest blogs, social media and running events, I hope to reduce the stigma of mental illness in the industry and avoid others struggling.

I am an Architect, the Vice-President of the Birmingham Architectural Association, Shaw Trust’s Power 100 2020 & 2021 top most influential Disabled people in the UK, shortlisted for the National Diversity award’s Disability Role Model and a passionate advocate for Inclusive Design/Accessible Housing.

My work and research focuses on providing decent accommodations across the Built Environment for those with a spectrum of disabilities and mental health issues. I sit on Habinteg’s advisory board (an accessible housing association), a Design Council Expert, lobby government to improve the Building Regulations and help educated students and professionals on their social responsibility.

I first got involved with the Society regarding the work that they were piloting to raise awareness about mental health and develop a support network. The dedication of the team, their expertise and genuine passion to better the lives of others struck me as exceptional and motivated me to become more engaged.

The collaboration with Anxiety UK that the Society has developed is an incredible resource to all the architectural community. Their commitment to interdisciplinary support and ambitions to help as many people as possible, including early career professionals, are admirable.
I am currently a Doctoral Researcher in Urban Planning at Birmingham City University, Student Representative on the RIBA National Council and co-Vice-President of the RIBA for Students and Associates. I am passionate to support young people in any stage of their development and to signpost them to organisations such as the Society that can help their development.